The Iron Woman
by Liber-T.E.A
Summary: Sequel to "Sleeping Lessons". After seeing her girlfriend get injured mission after mission, Pepper vows to do something about it. Natasha/Pepper, implied Tony/Bruce. Yuri. Implied yaoi. Dedicated to luthien-black on dA.


Alright, came up with this idea while reading my previous Avengers oneshot while listening to the Skillex remix of "In For The Kill". Enjoy!

Also, luthien-black on dA gets a dedication for her allowance of my use of her Natasha/Pepper pic for a story cover on the last story. This one's for you!

I don't own the Avengers. Marvel does.

* * *

When Natasha came back from a fight with a limp, Pepper was worried. When she came back from a fight wearing a sling on her arm, Pepper was mortified. When she came back from a fight with a gunshot wound (albeit a graze) on her side and a broken hand, Pepper was done.

She had grown very, very close to the redheaded spy, and she was going to do something. Something drastic.

* * *

Tony sighed. Another day, but not one wasted. He was in his workshop, working on a special armor (the 'Thorbuster' armor) to fight Thor. The Norse god had been gloating recently that he could beat him whenever he wanted, and Tony wanted to prove him wrong.

It was a lot more armored than his standard armor, and it also had increased strength. This was so he could hold off that blasted hammer of his. The armor also had empty batteries embedded in the back. That way, Thor's lightning would simply flow into them, giving him more backup power for stronger attacks.

The downsides to such an armor was a huge cut to speed. It was much heavier than usual, but it had to be done. He needed those bragging rights.

However, she stopped working when Pepper walked in. He smirked, and he moved the holographic blueprints to the side.

"Something I can do Pep? Or do you need someone to talk to, hm?"

She sat down.

"Do you remember that suit that Rhodey took from you?"

Stark nodded, and he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, and I still have to get that back. Remind me later that I-"

"TONY, focus."

She smirked.

"I want one."

He blinked, and then he smirked as well.

"Well I love this idea, but first you have to tell me why."

She looked away, and she sighed.

"Natasha and I have been together for four months now, and I'm tired of seeing her come to bed injured. Right now it's a graze wound, but tomorrow it could be worse. It's too stressful. I want to protect her, because if just kills me on the inside to see her in pain...you know?"

He thought about it for a second. If Bruce were in trouble, he would want to protect him as best as he could too. Without a word, he stood up.

"Come with me, Potts."

She stood up, noting how serious he looked, and she followed him.

* * *

The two ended up in 'The Hall of the Iron Men'. It started as a little joke from Thor, but the name stuck. Adorning the walls were every suit (minus War Machine, which Tony REALLY needed back) that Stark had ever built. He stopped in front of them, and he looked over each one carefully. After a few moments of appraising his beauties, he turned to Pepper. Tony then looked her over fully, which quickly angered her.

"Would you stop checking me out?"

"I'm not checking you out, though you're still sexy as hell. I'm trying to figure out what the best features would be for a suit tailored to you."

He held up her arm, testing her muscle.

"Sleek. I'm thinking sleek. Fast as hell too. Maybe some armor over the chest, but lightly. Aerodynamic would be best. And simple. No gimmicks. Streamlined."

In this, Pepper had always admired him. When he put his mind to something, he had a completely one-track mind.

"Tony, your genius is showing."

He didn't even blink, though she could tell he was laughing internally.

"That's what she said. And Bruce too, last night."

She giggled.

"How are you two doing?"

"Great. Unlike you, I don't really have to worry about him getting hurt. I don't really think he can die. However, outside of superhero work, it's pretty sweet too. He's a killer lab partner and awesome in bed. Win-win."

He smiled as he looked back at a particular suit, the MK V Suitcase Suit.

"Bingo. Perfect for a business woman."

Pepper was confused.

"What? What's perfect for a business woman?"

He looked at the ceiling.

"JARVIS!"

"Yes sir?"

He waved for her to follow, and the two walked back to his workshop.

"Bring up the design for the MK V suit, please."

"One moment sir."

He sat down at his desk, and she did the same across from him. The desk lit up, and a 3D hologram of the suit appeared.

"...What colors would you like, Pepper?"

* * *

Later that night, Pepper was exhausted. For a day off, it sure had been busy.

After coming up with design concepts, she had been whisked off for a full-body scan (to ensure that the dimensions of the armor were perfect for her). After that, she and Tony spent an hour making up a design based on the newly-rendered specifications.

Stark went all out, as he wanted her to be completely safe from whatever came at her. This meant using a lot of new materials and systems.

He used a new metal alloy that he had developed, one that was easily ten times stronger than the original MK V armor, but it was as light as aluminum. It allowed her to be fairly armored while still maintaining high speed. The mechanics were also streamlined quite a bit, and they were tailored to Pepper. She would be the only person able to use it. Also, instead of one Arc Reactor, it had six miniature ones aligned in columns of three down her solar plexus and stomach. This actually provided greater power than one big one, and it allowed the power source to be stored in the suitcase mode.

And speaking of suitcase mode, it was incredibly lightweight, and it only opened/activated if the correct keycode was entered in the keypad on the top. Provided she was wearing form-fitting clothing (which she made a mental note to start wearing under her normal clothing), she could be in her suit and ready in two minutes.

As for weapons, it had the standard arm repulsors, as well as two small wrist-mounted RPG launchers (one on each wrist) that folded into her suit. It was not a suit made for long, drawn-out fighting, but it worked extremely well for short-to-medium length battles. The catch was that the repulsors were massively enhanced. The extra juice from the six Arc Reactors boosted their power significantly, and an experimental focusing system made them pinpoint-precise. Anything hit with them would be cleaved in two. Tony had called it "a sniper's Iron Man suit".

The suit itself was painted a mixture of mostly black and red, but it also had gold highlights around the joints and on the helmet. The Arc Reactors glowed white, and a small inlay over her heart matched the hourglass-shaped belt buckle that Natasha always wore.

Overall, Pepper was very pleased. After the design was finished, it took four hours to build. It was a good thing they started the project at 11:00 AM. While they waited, the duo met up with Bruce, and they went out to lunch. Natasha was at SHIELD for the day, as she had to do some reports for Fury, so she couldn't make it.

Once they got back, Pepper was amazed by her new armor. It was perfect.

The next five hours were spent having Pepper get in the suit and get used to it. She was a quick learner at flying (not as fast as Tony though), and she was a natural with the weapons (especially because of the special JARVIS-assisted targeting system). She was ready.

* * *

After training, she waved goodbye to Tony, and she carried her suitcase up to her apartment. She decided to move into the Tower not long after she and Natasha got together simply so they could spend more time together. It was nice.

As she entered her apartment, she noticed a light in her bedroom. She set her new armor down next to her work suitcase, and she went inside.

On the bed, Natasha was nude, lying suggestively on her side. A glass of wine was in her hand, and she looked absolutely ravishing in the dim light.

Pepper blushed, and her mouth went dry. The spy winked.

"C'mere Pep."

The CEO didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

The next day, there was a hostage situation downtown. Usually the police would handle it, but it was rather close by.

Being that they were the only stealthy members of the Avengers, only Natasha, Steve, and Clint went. Tony cited the fact that his suit was an eyesore, and Thor and Bruce cited their record of major collateral damage.

The building was a bank, and it was three stories tall. The criminals were spread out through the building, some on the first floor with the hostages, some on the top floor breaking into the vault. The police surrounded the building, and the bank robbers were holding the hostages for immunity only. They wanted to get out of there with the money scot-free, and they were willing to hold guns to heads to get that.

Natasha and Steve quickly snuck into the building, and they saw two people guarding the hostages. They, in unison, pulled out pistols and dropped the two criminals. However, as they were getting the last hostage safely outside, the other party came down the stairs and started a firefight.

Clint, on the other hand, was on the building across the street, and he was worried. From this angle, he couldn't get any decent shots. However, he noticed a sniper setting up on the roof across the street from him, and he was dressed like the other terrorists. He aimed, and he fired, taking him out.

* * *

Within five minutes of their departure from the Tower, Pepper nodded to Tony, and she headed off to her room. She quickly changed into a tanktop and tight shorts, and she opened the suitcase. Two minutes later, she opened the door to her balcony, and she was off.

Once to the scene, she spotted Clint, and she quietly landed next to her.

"Stark?"

She shook her head.

"Nope. Pepper."

He blinked.

"Pepper...why are you in a suit? Doesn't Stark hate that?"

"Not when it's a suit he made for me."

She turned to the bank, and she looked closely. As soon as she saw Natasha in trouble, she quickly flew in. Natasha was confused, and she yelled into her mic.

"Stark, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not Stark!"

That voice, the voice of her lover, hit her, and she was stunned. Pepper flew in, and promptly sliced one guy's gun in half with the repulsors. He was quickly knocked out with a punch to the gut. Another guy was kicked in the face, and a third guy had a piece of railing smack him in the chest. The suit augmented her strength quite a lot.

The leader ran, but she quickly went after him. He soon hit a dead end, and he turned around to fire a few rounds into her. Pepper's armor was too strong, and they bounced off as she grabbed the weapon from him, destroying it as she ripped it apart. She then grabbed him, and he started bawling.

"D-don't kill me!"

She chuckled, and she simply broke a window and took him down to the cops. Afterward, she flew back down to Natasha and Steve, and she pulled up her visor. Pepper smirked, and she pulled her stunned girlfriend in for a quick kiss. Steve looked away, still not fully used to homosexuality being so out in the open.

"You guys want a lift?"

* * *

Hours later, the two women were nude, tired and sated. For once it was Natasha that lay in Pepper's arms, cheeks ablaze and limp as a wet noodle. Pepper had clearly wanted to be dominant during sex that night, and she had let her. It was a strange experience, but it had been a strange day. Not a bad day (or experience), just strange.

"So, where did you get that suit? Did Tony make it for you?"

Pepper sighed, and she cuddled the Russian woman tighter.

"Yeah. I wanted one."

"...Why?"

Pepper kissed her forehead gently.

"Because I'm tired of you coming back from missions injured. I want to protect you. I love you."

Natasha moved a little and she looked into her eyes. A tear came to her own.

"You...you love me?"

Pepper nodded, a smile on her face. This made the spy's heart soar, and she really started to cry.

"I...I love you too, Pepper."

The CEO kissed the tears away, and soon they were back to sex. Or as they would call it in the morning, making love.

* * *

Please review!

Also, I will dedicate another short Natasha/Pepper oneshot to anyone who draws me a picture of Pepper's new armor! I need art!


End file.
